Accountability and lying never go together. Accountability and truth go together. Lack of truth, fake news and alternative facts are flooding us. This barrage has eroded accountability in our society. What makes this really serious is that this barrage of lying is coming from leadership.
The entire concept of truth is being thrown out of the window as if it is not necessary. It has gotten to the point that leadership isn’t just lying about some things; they are lying about everything. When it gets to the point where they will tell you what you see with your very own eyes isn’t what really is happening then we are long past having a problem.
This act of lying is so common that it being made into something that is normal, and people are becoming numb to it. What begins to ensue is chaos and destruction. What gets destroyed are the values we shared as a nation, the way government has successfully operated and the trust that all people have in our elected leaders. The ability to achieve improvements are based on trust.
The President should be leading the charge on accountability. We’re dealing with a morally inept president. This isn’t a political statement. It is a statement based on what has been said and actions taken.
I want to be able to look to my leader, whether I elected them or not, and know that they are telling the truth, that their own personal interests are not being served and that they are always working for the betterment of the people they were elected to serve and lead. I do not have to agree with their politics but I do expect honesty and decisions based on an acceptable set of values.
In any organization the people will operate at their very best when they believe in and trust their leader. The people will sacrifice for the leader when they know the leader is sacrificing for them. The people will follow the leader when they know that the leader will only take them places that are safe and on mission. People will discover new heights of achievement when they see their leader serving them and delivering beyond their expectations of what should be expected for the leader.
Once the leader starts to compromise then everyone below them see that way of acting as acceptable and they do it too. If the leader is accountable then the people will be accountable. I’ve never worked with an organization where the leader said he wanted his or her people to be more accountable where the leader didn’t need to be more accountable also.
Accountability isn’t easy. Accountability is about saying what you value and then keeping your commitments to people based on those values, No matter what!
The examples that our elected leaders set will impact all of us. It will impact people as individuals and it will impact the people who lead our companies and organizations.
We are living in a time where values are being thrown out the window. People are more worried about grabbing and holding on to power then doing what’s right and living those values.
Accountability has to do with leadership. Accountability is the highest form of leadership. A lack of accountability means we lack leadership in the highest form. When leadership collapses the society is going to collapse.
Truth is like a rudder. It keeps things on course, stable and in control. Truth is under attack. If the truth goes away accountability goes away. In order for a society to be civilized you have to have accountability. You have to have accountability if that society is going to survive and thrive.
